You probably wouldn’t think to check on E. 23rd Street in Downtown Chattanooga for great pizza, but Home Slice Pizza has got you covered!

Have you ever noticed how some of the best places to eat are the most unassuming places? Perhaps the place that you have driven by 1000 times and never even noticed, let alone bothered to stop into. Or the little Thai place in a strip mall somewhere that you literally had to search out on Yelp when you were not feeling a downtown excursion in an unfamiliar town. Or the pizza place that you might have heard of but then forgot about, located in a little corner of a hotel just off the interstate, in the midst of a bunch of fast food places and gas stations.
That, my friends, is Home Slice Pizza. I think that I had seen something about it when it opened, but then kind of forgot about it. A search for somewhere to eat downtown or in North Georgia so we could make a quick getaway to Beverage World for Philip to look for some loot turned it up and off we went.

When we got to Home Slice Pizza, located on one end of The Chatt Inn on 23rd Street, I wasn’t even sure it was open. There were no cars out front and from the outside it didn’t appear that there were any lights on. I was wrong, though, and we went on in to be waited on by Jimmy. He explained the menu to us and made some recommendations.

The space is tiny – a counter for ordering and four tables. Jimmy explained that, right now, most of their business is take-out. They also work with a local delivery service so patrons can have their pizza brought to their home. Jimmy told us that the owners of the hotel had been trying to bring in a restaurant that would last to that location. They hired a general manager with lots of restaurant experience to come and build it from the ground up. While the owners are involved, they allow the team working in the restaurant lots of room to create and experiment. They are hoping to expand to a second restaurant, hopefully in the Hixson or Red Bank area. The second restaurant would have more space than the current restaurant.

When we see garlic knots on a menu, we are basically required to order them. When Jimmy told us that their garlic knots were pretty much fantastic, it was settled. For $5, we got an order of soft and pillowy rolls coated in garlicky butter and a crap ton of Parmesan cheese, plus a cup of warm marinara sauce with a generous serving of cheese sprinkled on top of it too. My criteria for a great garlic knot: soft on the top with a tiny bit of crunch on the bottom, a little chew to the bread inside (but not too much), and tons of flavor. These checked those boxes nicely.
The Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch pizza sounded amazing, but I decided ultimately to go with the Meatball Meltdown. This may sound crazy, but I have never eaten a pizza with meatballs on it. I can’t think of a chain pizza restaurant that offers them, nor can I think of another locally-owned pizza joint that I have noticed offering them, though that could definitely be an oversight on my part. The Meatball Meltdown was made with Home Slice’s sweet and savory sauce, double cheese (!!!!), fresh garlic, and fresh, sliced meatballs. The small was $7 and a perfect size for one person. Actually, since I had eaten the garlic knots beforehand, I was only able to finish 3 of the 4 slices. The pizza was exceedingly (but not excessively) meaty. The cheese made for a perfect cheese pull – too bad I didn’t get a picture of that! The crust was a little crunchy and perfectly chewy with a good amount of garlic seasoning on it.
Philip when with Jimmy’s recommendation and got the Oh Captain, My Captain pizza (also $7 for a small). The Oh Captain, My Captain is made with their sweet and savory sauce, cheese, pepperoni, spicy sausage, chicken, bell peppers, diced onions, and mild wing sauce on a garlic crust. All the flavors went together perfectly and the wing sauce provided a great finish to an already delicious pizza. One thing I was particularly impressed by was the freshness of the chicken. Often, when I eat chicken on a pizza or in a pasta dish in a restaurant, it tastes like it has been sitting in the fridge for a few days. This chicken did not taste like that at all.
Home Slice Pizza also serves sandwiches, wings in a variety of flavors, and desserts (deep-fried Oreos! Deep fried Twinkies! Cinnamon knots!). Unfortunately, we were way too stuffed from our pizza and garlic knots to get a dessert. But that is a good thing, right? That means that we really enjoyed the pizza. By the time we left, the restaurant was full and we were actually rushing to move from our table to make space for another couple that had come in. We found the prices to be very reasonable and especially liked that they offer a personal-sized pizza. We tend to prefer different toppings on our pizzas and that can be problematic when you are forced to share a larger sized pizza. Additionally, Jimmy was extremely friendly, helpful, and customer-oriented.

If you are out on 23rd Street, check out Home Slice Pizza. Actually, make a special trip out there to try it. It’s definitely not what you would expect in this area and it is 100% worth the trip!

Home Slice Pizza is located at 2000 E. 23rd Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37404. Their hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. You can call them at 423.531.3500. For more information, you can check out Home Slice Pizza’s website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This quick and easy pizza skillet is like an amazing pan pizza baked and served in your favorite cast iron skillet, and it’s completely customizable! Scroll down for video!Click here to pin this recipe!

We’re down to the last couple of weeks of the school year, and I have to admit that it seems like it’s been crazier this year than in any of the previous 16 school years that I have completed (sixteen!!! That’s just crazy.). I’m sure I probably say that every year, though. It just seems like this year I thought that things were going to slow down here at the end and they didn’t. Not at all. If anything, they picked up. That’s the nature of this job, though. You can’t predict anything. There are no patterns. And that’s okay…but I’m tired.
I’ve worked the last couple of summers, and this summer I don’t have to. That means two months of blogging bliss, so I’m excited to see what I can get done this summer. If I can only make it to summer break, anyway. I’ve been working on getting organized, determined to treat blogging like a full-time job this summer, just to see where it gets me. I’ve got a free event on the books with All-South Appliance, and I have some other stuff in the works too. Super-excited.
Right now, it’s all I can do to get dinner on the table at night. Since I ended my restaurant fast, all I want to do is go out to eat…you know, because I can. But I’m not gonna. I’m kind of obsessed with my Instant Pot (<–affiliate link), but I guess you guys probably don’t want Instant Pot recipes every day. I’ve occupied myself with finding meals that are equally easy and delicious.
When Philip and I first got married, every Friday night was pizza night. We bought a Mama Mary’s crust from the grocery store and topped it with store-bought “pizza sauce” (that’s what the label said!), grated pizza cheese (again, on the label), and pepperoni. It’s been a long time since I’ve bought a store-bought pizza crust, jarred pizza sauce, or grated cheese, but honestly, the homemade pizza that I make not is barely more difficult and it’s 1000% more delicious.

Pin the recipe now!
Every time I make pizza I remember how simple it is, and how happy it makes me to turn out something that tasty, that simply. I recently decided to make it a thick crust “pan” pizza by oiling up my cast iron skillet (preheated in the oven) and tossing the pizza crust in there, then topping and baking. I was not disappointed. My pizza skillet turned out perfectly…better than any thinner crust pizza I’ve ever made. I think that this pizza skillet might be my new “go-to” way to make pizza!

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Place an oven rack in the highest position. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. On a lightly-floured surface, roll the pizza dough out into a 10-inch circle.

When the oven has preheated, remove the skillet and pour in two tablespoons of the oil, then swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. Carefully transfer the circle of pizza dough to the pan. You'll have to do some arranging to fill up the whole pan; be careful not to burn yourself.

Brush the top of the pizza dough with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Spread the tomato sauce on the dough, leaving about 1/2-inch of the dough at the edges. Sprinkle the oregano over the sauce. Top with the cheese and desired toppings.

Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned. If desired, broil lightly for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese. Use a large spatula to remove the pizza from the pan and slice. Serve immediately.

Eggs Florentine pizza is surprisingly easy and a delicious, out-of-the-box breakfast or brunch. It’s perfect to serve to Mom on Mother’s Day!

I am not a mom, but I can tell you what I would love to have for Mother’s Day if I was a mom: a day without cooking. Maybe that sounds strange? I mean, I am a food blogger. I guess I’m supposed to want to cook every meal, every day? That’s pretty unrealistic, especially considering that I work full-time in addition to writing this blog. But this really isn’t about me.
What I’m getting at is that I feel pretty confident that there are a lot of moms out there who would gladly forego flowers or jewelry or whatever you might get your mom for Mother’s Day (I already gave my mom her gift, vintage Pyrex, by the way) if they could have a whole day off from cooking. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. Obviously, I can’t speak for all women, but if someone cooked for me I’d be happy with burgers or sandwiches or even takeout BBQ. It truly is the thought that counts. And the not having to cook. Do I need to say that again? By the way, my husband doesn’t read my blog, so someone tell him that I want a day off from cooking.
I bet Mom would even be happy with pizza. What’s not to love about pizza? It’s kind of a universal food. If it’s made from scratch, even better. Especially if it’s super-fancy like this eggs Florentine pizza that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or brunch! Now, I know that eggs Florentine usually has Hollandaise sauce on it, but I left it off of the eggs Florentine pizza because two people just can’t eat that much Hollandaise, Hollandaise doesn’t keep, and I don’t want to waste most of a stick of butter and some egg yolks. If someone has a suggestion for a smart way to downsize a Hollandaise recipe, let me know. And you can totally add it to your eggs Florentine pizza…the point is, this pizza is delicious either way, and I’m sure that Mom would love it!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted.

Sprinkle the flour over the spinach and stir to combine. Slowly stir in the half and half or cream and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Stretch the flour into a large rectangle on a sheet pan. Spread the spinach onto the pizza dough. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the spinach.

Make 4 holes in the spinach mixture. Crack each egg into a custard cup and place into one of the holes. Salt the eggs and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella evenly over the pizza.

Bake the pizza for 10 minutes. Allow to stand for two more minutes until the eggs are set (be careful and keep an eye on the eggs...I let mine stand for 3 minutes and as you can see they got a little too hard). Serve immediately.

Recipe Type: breakfast, brunch, vegetarian, pizza, main dishes

Notes

To make fresh mozzarella easier for shredding, freeze it for 10-15 minutes before grating on the large holes of a box grater.

Tortilla pizzas with vegetables are my version of Applebee’s old menu item veggie patch pizza and is a quick, light, and simple option for lunch, dinner, or even a snack!Church-goers…what’s your after-church meal? There was a time in our lives when we mostly went out for lunch on Sunday afternoons. We were gluttons for punishment back then, apparently. Because have you ever attempted to go to a restaurant in the Bible Belt between 12:15 and 1:30 p.m.? Madness, I tell you.We don’t do that any more, or at least the occasions when we do are pretty few and far between. I try to make sure that we have leftovers, or maybe something in the slow cooker…and every once in a while, I’ll actually cook something after church.

The problem with that is that by the time I get home (we live about 30 minutes from church) I am bordering on hangry (hungry + angry = hangry…hangry is when you are so hungry that people are best advised to stay out of your way). So if I’m going to cook, it has to be something quick. These vegetarian tortilla pizzas fit the bill.
For many years, Applebee’s had an item on their appetizer menu called the “veggie patch pizza”. It was basically spinach dip, cheese, and vegetables baked up on a flour tortilla. I think I only ordered it once but I remember really liking it. It’s been off the menu for years now, but I still think of it from time to time with fondness. As I was trying to think of something quick and delicious to have for lunch after church that might also be bloggable…that pizza came to my mind. So I pulled some tortillas out of the freezer and piled on some fresh vegetables and here you go: vegetarian tortilla pizzas. To ward off your hanger.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet. Spray or brush with olive oil. Bake the tortillas until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

While the tortillas are baking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for about one minute. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted.

Divide the spinach cream sauce among the tortillas. Top with the shredded cheese then the artichoke hearts. Bake until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Remove the tortilla pizzas from the oven and divide the tomatoes among the pizzas. Serve immediately.

Though unconventional, caramelized onion and apple pizza is delicious and makes your homemade pizza a little more special than the standard cheese and pepperoni (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) using ingredients that you probably already have in your house!
I know that apple pizza might sound a little bizarre but hear me out on this. You guys know that I would never lead you astray.
You might think that as a food blogger I never suffer from bouts of just not wanting to cook. Sometimes it’s about actually not wanting to cook and other times it’s about a craving…usually Mexican but sometimes something more lowbrow like (gasp!) fast food. When the “don’t wannas” strike it’s good to have some back-ups that feel like fast food but aren’t.
Like tacos, or risotto, or pizza. Pizza is one of those foods that you can just throw anything on and dang, it’s good. Pizza is a receptacle for the leftovers in my fridge and the items in my pantry that I probably won’t use for anything else.
Sometimes a pizza craving strikes and we’ll grab Domino’s or Pizza Hut but usually when a pizza craving strikes I can talk myself out of it because when you can make pizza at home with little to no effort why would you spend extra money to eat pizza that you usually end up deciding isn’t as good as what you’d make yourself? Wow, that was a major run-on sentence. Anyway…that’s how this caramelized onion and apple pizza came about. I was actually going to rephotograph my baked potato pizza, but then I remembered that (a) I was almost out of sour cream; and (b) I had a green apple in my fruit drawer that needed to be used.
So there you go. Caramelized onion and apple pizza. I used a yellow storage onion because it’s what I had, but bonus points if you have a sweet onion (like a Vidalia, which of course is what I would use). And a Granny Smith apple, but again…use what you have. Smoked mozzarella was delicious here, but regular mozzarella would be great as would Gouda…and if I had some blue cheese it would have worked marvelously here. Oh, and I used bacon, because when you have Benton’s bacon in the house you’ll find any reason to use it….but it would be great without too. Just use some butter to cook the apples and onions instead. The flavors of those apples and onions cooked down until practically syrupy was a perfect compliment for the salty cheese.

Preheat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Sauté the bacon until crisp then remove to a paper towel lined plate. If not using the bacon, skip this step and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet instead.

Add the apples, onions, and salt to the pan and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cooked down and caramelized. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees (I preheat my stoneware pizza pan but you can also use a baking sheet) with the rack at the highest level.

Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface or a large sheet of parchment paper. Spray or brush with olive oil. Distribute the onions and apples over the pizza dough and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Top with the bacon, if using, then finish with the Parmesan.

Bake the pizza for 10 minutes or until the cheese has lightly browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Notes

Placing the rack at the top level of the oven allows the heat to bounce off the roof of the oven, which will cook the top of the pizza more efficiently.